The Current state of Elk Hunting

[Smokedhog]

Going elk hunting is being successful to me and many others I love preseason scouting, but it loses luster if I don't get to hunt the same country in the fall. Bringing home an elk is pretty low on my list of best potential outcomes of a hunt, but the possibility of harvesting makes all the difference.

I completely understand what he means as far as low on the list. I'll be spending a week in the mountains with my son, automatic success. I developed my love of the west backpacking with the boyscouts as a teen and the few trips I've taken since have just cemented it. I'm not doing the scouting with him so this is my way of really introducing him to back country camping.

I didn't really start deer hunting until my late 20's and am pretty much completely self taught. My first couple years of archery I was happy to kill button bucks, now I routinely pass on P&Y bucks waiting on the right one. Also self taught trapper who went from trying to catch a single coon to feeling weird if I wasn't skinning at least three or four coyotes a day. So I get that there will be a significant learning curve. The freezer will already be full of whitetail, elk will be a bonus on top of a bonding week with my son.

 

[camping1601]

I've heard most of my life how much better elk meat is than deer. I grew up eating whitetail venison and it can be a little gamey for some folks, in some situations. But I heard so often "elk is better than beef... etc, etc. I had elk meat a few times when I lived in NM and thought it was okay. Last season, my buddy gave me some meat to take home from his bull and I was looking forward to cooking it up. So far, my wife and I aren't sure what we're doing wrong that makes elk meat taste so bland. I mean it's like eating tofu or something. Just no flavor at all. It's super tender alright, but just no flavor. Maybe we're just so used the whitetail now? I dunno. I need a larger sample size to be sure but if elk meat doesn't taste any better than whitetails do, that is gonna save me a lot of money on tags in the future. LOL

Having grown up on Deer I also find Elk to have much less flavor. I describe it as tasting like very, very mild Deer.
I do prefer the coarser grain of Elk.

 

[Beendare]

....
So far, my wife and I aren't sure what we're doing wrong that makes elk meat taste so bland. I mean it's like eating tofu or something. Just no flavor at all. .....

Well its not gamey....and there is very little fat....so yeah, it probably is a little more bland.

Try this; cut a backstop crosswise into 1/4" think strips. Rub the meat with fresh garlic and a little Lowrys seasoning salt then toss in a hot pan a hot pan with olive oil only just browning on each side- about 1 minute a side is all leaving the center red.

We do that^ at elk camp with elk heart....and the inside straps-YUM!

We usually use garlic salt at camp as we don't have fresh garlic though a guy would probably have those elk following him around in the woods with a couple garlic cloves in his pack.

..

 

[Newtosavage]

Well its not gamey....and there is very little fat....so yeah, it probably is a little more bland.

Try this; cut a backstop crosswise into 1/4" think strips. Rub the meat with fresh garlic and a little Lowrys seasoning salt then toss in a hot pan a hot pan with olive oil only just browning on each side- about 1 minute a side is all leaving the center red.

We do that^ at elk camp with elk heart....and the inside straps-YUM!

We usually use garlic salt at camp as we don't have fresh garlic though a guy would probably have those elk following him around in the woods with a couple garlic cloves in his pack.

..

I will give that a try. I have quite a few backstrap steaks still.

I have some shoulder steaks that I eventually just soaked in Italian dressing before I put them on the grill. That helped too.

 

[5MilesBack]

IMO elk meat is just that.........meat. I grind most of it and we use burger a lot. It's just like having a large supply of burger on hand year round. Having elk burgers for dinner tonight.

But last night we had some outstanding prime rib. Hard to beat beef for tasty meat. That's what the marbling does.........it's what gives ribeyes and prime rib its flavor. Minus the marbling, and it's just meat.

 

[TexasCub]

Oh the irony. An internet hunting forum where 2\3 of the members aren't from western states discussing why elk hunting in the western states is going to chit. Forums like this one have nothing to do with it?

 

[Newtosavage]

Oh the irony. An internet hunting forum where 2\3 of the members aren't from western states discussing why elk hunting in the western states is going to chit. Forums like this one have nothing to do with it?

Only if you think they do.

 

[excaliber]

Paul,
You are in the top 1% of elk hunters. You hunt units close to home and know them as well as anyone knows their areas. That is a huge plus. You are an excellent caller and you speak the language. On top of that you have excellent hunting partners who you've taught and groomed over the years. Your success rate is 7 times better than the average hunter in your units. You have it wired. You expect to kill a bull every year and you do it.
Not everyone is at this level.
I've only been on one archery elk hunt here as I can't find anyone to hunt with that is a serious archery hunter. I don't want to solo hunt elk.
I moved here to Archery hunt Elk but it just hasn't worked out for me at all. It's hard to get in with people who are willing to let you hunt with them. Good hunting partners are hard to come by.
People are really guarded about their spots and I don't blame them as I'm the same way too. Some people need some help or a push in the right direction and shown techniques on how to be a successful elk hunter.

Man, some of you really surprise me with your responses! How can not tagging an Elk not mean anything to you? Why do you bother? Why not save your money on tags & go camping & hiking so you can enjoy the outdoors in a leisure manner.

Don't get me wrong, I love being out there & enjoying any & all camaraderie, I enjoy all the things elk country offers but I'm pretty upset if a tag is not eventually filled, if it isn't I'd best have a hell of a good reason why not. I take elk hunting very serious, it isn't just a time to spend in the woods enjoying nature, I give it my all come Sept.

I know to each his own but Attitude can play a huge role in ones success!

ElkNut/Paul

 

[deerkiller]

I've heard most of my life how much better elk meat is than deer. I grew up eating whitetail venison and it can be a little gamey for some folks, in some situations. But I heard so often "elk is better than beef... etc, etc. I had elk meat a few times when I lived in NM and thought it was okay. Last season, my buddy gave me some meat to take home from his bull and I was looking forward to cooking it up. So far, my wife and I aren't sure what we're doing wrong that makes elk meat taste so bland. I mean it's like eating tofu or something. Just no flavor at all. It's super tender alright, but just no flavor. Maybe we're just so used the whitetail now? I dunno. I need a larger sample size to be sure but if elk meat doesn't taste any better than whitetails do, that is gonna save me a lot of money on tags in the future. LOL

after eating "corn fed Iowa ANYTHING" elk will taste "bland" to most but who said you can't season, marinade, get creative with wild game ?? and I don't care WHO tells you how to cook elk take it off the heat bloody rare and let it sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes, you can watch it finish … AND be sure to CUT the pieces across the grain and not WITH the grain (which will almost insure chewy) I save my backstrap in approx. 8" sections, marinade for 24 hours and BBQ just like I describe, eat with some horseradish sauce ….. MMmmm… BUT certain sections require cutting the meat oriented across rather than with the front to back orientation of the elk, kind of counterintuitive I suppose - and every once in a while I enjoy a Ribeye, T-bone or a center cut pork chop as much as the next person

 

[deerkiller]

Whitetail is good. Elk is good. Antelope is good. Mule deer can be good. Blacktail is... well let’s go hunt elk again!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've hunted with an uncle born and bred in the Dallas, Fall City, Salem areas for elk off and on for 40 years who would rather have Black Tail venison than anything

 

[mwebs]

Growing up my gpa told stories from the one elk hunt he was able to go on, his entire life, as a life long hunter, just so much harder to do back then and we had family in Montana.. People couldn't hop on the internet, join a few forums, post a few unit questions, download, onx and just drive out, now it is sooooo easy. Plus mallards and whitetails just dont make good profile pics, and if you can't brag about something on social media why even have it?

 

[ElkNut1]

excaliber, learn the Slow Play Technique I've come up with & you will fall into the 70% to 90%+ success rate in the the next 5 years & on! It's fairly simple & can apply to nearly any calling situation. Choose good Setups & it will make you look good too.

ElkNut/Paul

 

[5MilesBack]

I don't want to solo hunt elk. I moved here to Archery hunt Elk but it just hasn't worked out for me at all.

Sometimes you just have to do what you want to do, but you're in a real quandary. You want to hunt elk, but you don't want to hunt elk......solo. IMO you're putting way too many restrictions on yourself (one). Get out there and enjoy yourself, and go kill an elk. Life's too short to let anyone else ruin your elk hunt.

 

[ElkNut1]

Mike, very true sir! I think guys feel going Solo as newer elk hunters is a tremendous feat that seems overwhelming at first glance & they're right! (grin) But once you evaluate things & understand simple ways to get your feet wet & elk hunt they will find that elk can be had within a mile or so of their starting points. As an archery elk hunter finding these spots is fairly easy without going deep, this means they can put an elk down & still get it out without any spoilage.

They just need the confidence that it can be done. For myself I built up my confidence through calling elk to me. I felt I put in the time in the off season perfecting my thoughts & techniques I intended to use. The more realistic your conversation to the elk you are the better your chances become. Through this practice ones confidence can soar because of ones efforts to be successful. Their attitude will be much different than hunters who do little to nothing in prep to their elk hunts!

ElkNut/Paul

 

[madcalfe]

im so glad in canada its a 19$ GOS tag 5/5 on 6 points

 

[deerkiller]

im so glad in canada its a 19$ GOS tag 5/5 on 6 points

I LOVE British Columbia ! Been there many many times …..

 

[Elktaco]

Lots of good points in this thread. I thought I've read right now is the golden age of elk hunting. Not sure if that's true or not but it seems just the opposite of mule deer. I'm just some guy from the midwest that loves the mountains and is happy shooting raghorns so the current state for me is good.

 

[dreamingbig]

I've hunted with an uncle born and bred in the Dallas, Fall City, Salem areas for elk off and on for 40 years who would rather have Black Tail venison than anything

Well not everyone can be right.

Seriously though, randy newbergs group put out some good episodes on you tube where most couldn’t tell the difference in their venison’s. Good meat care and cooking trump the type of venison.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[GregB]

I've only been on one archery elk hunt here as I can't find anyone to hunt with that is a serious archery hunter. I don't want to solo hunt elk.
I moved here to Archery hunt Elk but it just hasn't worked out for me at all. It's hard to get in with people who are willing to let you hunt with them. Good hunting partners are hard to come by.

One of the good things about going solo is you can hunt how you want without worrying about the work ethic and commitment of others. It takes a little extra planning and thought, and reduces how far in you can go. But if I can do it, I figure anyone can. It's not as overwhelming as you think, give a try at worst you get to go elk hunting.

 

[Beendare]

Oh the irony. An internet hunting forum where 2\3 of the members aren't from western states discussing why elk hunting in the western states is going to chit. Forums like this one have nothing to do with it?

Really? If your point is that this one thread of elk hunters discussing the currnt elk topics is going to drive a bunch of out-of-staters into your hunt spot- i think you are mistaken.

Seems to me its the proliferation of YouTube capturing the excitement of guys calling and killing elk.

Seems to me there are a lot of good comments.... from guys that hunt elk all down the spectrum.

YES, there are a lot of guys in the elk woods.... now how do we all deal with that and have an enjoyable experience?

Personally, ive found spots where i know i could kill an elk every year if that was my priority, but i like exploring new country a d i know that might affect my probability of success.

...